


Sunset knows your name

by milky_toast_06



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Falling In Love, Fukuroudani, Heartbreak, Love, M/M, Mentioned Kozume Kenma, Mentioned Kuroo Tetsurou, Nekoma, One Shot, One sided, One-Sided Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Pining, Romance, Sad, Short Story, Unrequited Love, akaashi keiji - Freeform, bokuto koutarou - Freeform, heartbroken, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27857714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milky_toast_06/pseuds/milky_toast_06
Summary: Sunset surely had to know his name by now, from the countless times Akaashi yelled it out to the horizon.Bokuto. Bokuto Koutaro. The number of times Akaashi had cursed that name to hell was well over a billion by now. That darn boy. That darn boy and his white tipped spiky hair, extreme passion for volleyball and mannerisms that made Akaashi’s knees go soft.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Sunset knows your name

Sunset surely had to know his name by now, from the countless times Akaashi yelled it out to the horizon. 

Bokuto. Bokuto Koutaro. The number of times Akaashi had cursed that name to hell was well over a billion by now. That darn boy. That darn boy and his white tipped spiky hair, extreme passion for volleyball and mannerisms that made Akaashi’s knees go soft.

Maybe it was because it had been a good day, or maybe because the team had won a particularly difficult match that day. Maybe it was because of the way sweat dripped off his earlobes and chin and soaked through his shirt, or the way Bokuto had this bright smile on his face.

Maybe it was because Akaashi thought Bokuto had finally looked at him twice, or maybe because Akaashi was feeling extra confident. Or maybe, just maybe, because it was him. Because it was Bokuto...that Akaashi thought confessing would be a good idea. 

That day, they had just won a match against Nekoma. It wasn’t any kind of serious match or official competition, more like a friendly match, but what made the stakes higher was that Bokuto had made a bet with Kuroo; the loser had to pay for dinner for the winning team.

It was a tough match, and Akaashi could tell from the unusually long emo period of Bokuto. Everyone had tried to snap him out of it, but after losing a considerable amount of points, Akaashi told the rest of them to leave it to him.

Akaashi had sighed; his captain was unbelievably difficult in these kinds of situations. He signalled to his coach for a time out. Akaashi put a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder, and squeezed it tightly. Looking into his captain’s eyes, Akaashi waited for Bokuto to look up back at him.

His heart did a little somersault when Bokuto finally lifted his eyes to return Akaashi’s stare.

“Akaasheee...i can’t hit my line shots properly today! I don’t know what’s the problem. And look! That darn rooster and his darn setter are laughing at me!” Bokuto wailed, pointing at Kuroo and Kenma.

Kenma was indifferent, but ah...Kuroo. That smug look on his face along with his proud smirk told Akaashi he knew what he’d done to Bokuto. Akaashi sent a simple glare back at him, but returned his focus to Bokuto.

“Kenma isn’t doing anything, Bokuto-san. Ignore Kuroo. If you win, i’ll buy you barbecued meat on the way home.” It wasn’t really a “if you win” thing for Akaashi, honestly. Regardless of whether or not they’d won the match that day, Akaashi was planning on buying some for Bokuto anyway.

Bokuto’s eyes lit up. “Really? You said it Akaashi. No going back on your word!” Bokuto laughed, and for Akaashi, even the slightest grin from the man put a smile on his face.

“Yes Bokuto-san. I won’t go back on my word.” Behind his captain, he could see the thumbs ups his team was giving him, and the immediate scowl on Kuroo’s face. Akaashi ignored it. 

And so the game continued, Bokuto having been pulled out of his emo mood. Bokuto, despite his arguably intimidating look, was surprisingly easy to please, but Akaashi knew that already. Akaashi prided himself on being one of the few, if not the only, people who could get Bokuto out of his random downcast mood swings. 

They won, needless to say. When Bokuto was at the top of his game, it would take a miracle to get Fukurodani to lose. 

Kuroo was much less of a sore loser than Akaashi thought he’d have been. Nekoma had lost, 22 to 25 and 24 to 26 for both sets respectively. Kuroo could not have found fault even if he’d wanted to; they’d lost fair and square.

So they went for the free dinner paid for by the Nekoma team, and as they walked home together after the meal, Akaashi bought Bokuto a packet of barbecued meat. 

It’d come on a skewer, piping hot with the smoke rising floating up in white translucent swirls above the meat. Akaashi had handed it to Bokuto carefully, their skin brushing against each other for a brief moment. 

A flush had creeped up Akaashi’s cheeks all the way to his ears, so he turned away, but not before Bokuto caught on.

“Hey hey hey, Akaasheee! Are...you angry or something?” Bokuto peered at Akaashi’s face behind the winter coat as the latter tried to look to the other side.

“No, i’m not Bokuto-san.”

“Are you sure? Cause your face is really  _ really  _ red and my sister’s face only gets that red when i do something incredibly stupid.” Bokuto paused. “Did i just do something stupid?”

“No Bokuto-san, you did not.”

“So you’re not angry...and i didn’t do anything dumb…” A both odd and confused look crossed Bokuto’s face. It looked very much like the look on a child’s face after tasting a really bad candy. “Then...why’s your face like that?”

Akaashi could have passed it off as anything really. A slight fever, the cold weather, a flu, or just his face colour, but something just told him not to.

Well whatever that “something” was that told him not to lie about it, that shit was so full of crap.

“I’m embarrassed, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto tilted his head to the side, while bringing his barbecued meat up to his mouth. Forgetting that it was still hot, the moment the meat touched his lips he yelped in pain and pulled away from it.

“Huh? Why?” Bokuto asked between fanning his scalded tongue.

Akaashi already regretted it. “Because i like you.”

They both stared at each other in dead silence, and on the inside, Akaashi was already beating himself up about it. How was he going to even play on the same team as Bokuto now? And for the rest of the journey home? What conversation were they going to make? 

Akaashi winced, knowing how much he’d overlooked in his moment of impulse.

“And,” Akaashi cut in before Bokuto could say anything to make it less awkward. “I don’t expect you to do anything about it, or have any sort of reaction. I’m just saying.”

Bokuto looked like he was going to stop Akaashi right there, but Akaashi didn’t want to hear what Bokuto was going to say. 

“I’m really sorry for ruining this friendship, Bokuto-san, but i...i…” Akaashi stopped right there. He was starting to sound like one of  _ those _ characters in romance dramas. “Never mind. Just ignore what i said.”

Bokuto appeared reluctant, but Akaashi kept walking, so he couldn’t really do anything about it. Barbecued meat in one hand, his other hand was left dangling by his side.

Akaashi’s hands could have been free, but he used both to purposely clutch his backpack. He just didn’t want to  _ know _ that he could be holding Bokuto’s hand if they were a couple, because they weren’t. 

It was a pretty quiet walk back home, and it was about an hour before the sun was to set. Bokuto and Akaashi lived close enough to each other in the same neighbourhood, and they finally reached the spot where they were to go on different paths.

“Akaasheee, you know, i’m-”

“Goodbye Bokuto-san. Finish your homework before going to bed tonight.”

“But...but...Akaasheee!” Bokuto whined as Akaashi turned to walk towards his home. Seeing the older boy complain and sulk was endearing to Akaashi, and he was weak for what would have been annoying to random other people.

He lifted his hand into a wave, his back still to Bokuto, as a farewell. Well...perhaps not a farewell, but more like a goodbye. For the day, of course.

He heard Bokuto’s loud sigh, and trudging footsteps in the opposite direction, and Akaashi began to sprint off towards his own home. The wind which had once felt like the cool breath of air against his cheeks now cut like a cold hard knife, slicing away painfully at his own regret and self-loathing.

God what had he been thinking? Confessing? On such a day? Come on, Akaashi! He should’ve known. He should’ve known Bokuto wouldn’t like him back. He should’ve known that even if his captain, was one of the top five aces of Japan, a total dumbass in an adorable way, and that even if he was  _ the _ Bokuto Koutaro, he shouldn’t have confessed.

He was running, and he didn’t know how long he’d been running for, but if he knew one thing for sure, it was that it was way past his home. 

He slowed down, and took a proper look at his surroundings. In spite of his situation, he smiled, then he rolled his eyes. Right after being rejected by his crush, ah yes but  _ of course _ , smiling was definitely the expected response. 

But the reason he’d smiled, was because he suddenly knew where he was running towards, where his legs had been leading him to. It was the hill by the beach, the one with a huge apple tree that Akaashi liked to sit under and do his homework while watching the sun either rise or set.

He jogged towards the hill then stood atop it, at the spot where he was as close to the sky as he could ever get, then he released his bag, letting it drop to the ground to his left. 

The clouds were hardly there that day, with only a few tufts here and there. The sky was a clear ombre of colour, purple to pinkish red to orange to a dark, warm gold colour. At the centre of it all, along the line where sky met sea, rested a white blinding circle. 

He vaguely recalled reading about how shouting into the vast, endless sea, into the horizon miles away, felt nice. He’d never actually tried it though. It’d just seemed so stupid, like some sort of last resort to vent because no one would listen.

And that was exactly what Akaashi felt. He felt stupid. He felt like he needed to resort to something as stupid as this to vent, because no one would listen to him.

He took in a deep breath, and yelled at the setting sun. 

“Bokuto! Bokuto Koutaro! I hate you! So so much! And! I wish! I didn’t like you! Like! I! Do!” Akaashi heard his voice linger a little in the air, before it completely disappeared. Like it hadn’t been there at all to begin with. 

He yelled, he shouted, he screamed in frustration. All the past one and a half years in a loop of denial and acceptance for his feelings for Bokuto. And it was all gone. His plans to hide it and nurture it secretly and keep it from his captain for the rest of his life. All gone up in smoke.

He stopped, panting. He picked up his bag, and walked towards the apple tree, his back sliding down the thin bark to sit on the ground.

Straining his voice like that sure hurt, and he didn’t know how Bokuto managed to shout so much continuously. Water was sliding down his chin and into the crooks of his ears and he wondered, he just wondered, if those were tears or sweat.

If they were from him crying over the rejection from a boy he liked so much, or if they were from the exhaustion of trying to get over it. Whatever it was, it was stupid. Stupid and unnecessary. 

Like him. 

He heard footsteps to his right, and he just assumed it was the uncle who liked to pick apples from the tree for free fruit. He shifted aside so as to not block his way, but as he looked up, he was staring into the bright golden eyes of his captain.

Akaashi looked away. “Hello Bokuto-san.” He sighed, making a space for Bokuto to sit down beside him. “How’d you know i’d be here?” Akaashi muttered. How had he known he’d be here? It was supposed to be a secret. 

Bokuto sat down to Akaashi’s left, and dropped his head down to rest on the younger boy’s shoulder. “Akaasheee, you didn’t have to run away you know? I thought I'd done something wrong! Or that I was being annoying.”

“You can be annoying.” 

“Akaasheee!”

“I’m just saying,” Akaashi said simply. What was Bokuto doing here? And wasn’t it awkward for Bokuto? And himself?

“Well anyway Akaashi, i just wanted to say that i uhm, don’t like you back. Romantically. But we can still be friends, you know?” Bokuto being serious was really distracting to Akaashi, but he tried to listen anyway. 

“Like...i just hope that uh…” Bokuto scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know how to say it. But you get what i mean right?”

It felt like a spear had been pushed right through Akaashi’s back and in through his heart. He nodded anyway.

“Yes, Bokuto-san. I understand.”

They both sat quietly at the top of the hill, one heartbroken and the other the heartbreaker. Together, with Bokuto’s head on Akaashi’s shoulder, they watched the sun setting in the distance.

Sunset. He loved the sunset, and yet he hated it, both with a passion comparable to the raging of flames around the sun. But the sunset kept a secret--his secret unrequited love for his captain. 

Sunset knew his name. And sunset knew Bokuto’s name. Akaashi felt the restraints around his chest loosen a little. 

He already knew how to love.

Maybe it was time, he learned to let go.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> heLLo!! I hope you enjoyed reading it <3 if you don't understand anything you can just comment, but you know, even if there aren't queries comments and kudos are appreciated :) have an amazing day/night :D thanks for dropping by to read
> 
> anyway, here's a summary of the plot just in case you didn't get it:
> 
> basically Nekoma and Fukurodani are having a friendly volleyball game, and bokuto goes into emo mode, so then Akaashi gets him out of it. Fukurodani wins the match, and since Kuroo and Bokuto had previously made a bet, Nekoma, the losing team, had to pay for Fukurodani's, the winning team's, dinner. 
> 
> After the paid meal, Akaashi and Bokuto go home together, since they live pretty close, and on the way back, Akaashi buys Bokuto some barbecued meat.
> 
> In the heat of the moment, Akaashi confesses to Bokuto, but says that he doesn't expect the latter to reciprocate the feelings. The rest of the walk home was awkward and quiet, and they part with unresolved tension.
> 
> Once Bokuto has left, Akaashi runs to a familiar hill with an apple tree, near the sea, and he shouts towards the setting sun about how frustrated he is, and basically to vent.
> 
> After he gets tried from that, he sits down by the apple tree to rest, and for some reason, Bokuto finds him. Bokuto tells him, albeit awkwardly, that Akaashi's feelings aren't mutual, but he hopes they stay as friends.
> 
> Akaashi is heartbroken, but he accepts it, and the story ends with the two of them sitting side by side, watching the sun set in the distance.


End file.
